FCC Recommends Complete Overhaul of USF and ICC

Today, Federal Communications Chairman Julius Genachowski published a memorandum on its thoughts about the Universal Service Fund and the Intercarrier Compensation system. In the note, Genachowski calls both the USF and ICC flawed in their current forms, and in need of reform. He says that they are outdated and do not serve U.S. citizens in the way that they should. The FCC proposes that, in concert with the National Broadband Plan, the USF and ICC be rewritten with four main goals in mind. Those pillars include: modernizing the programs to support broadband networks; ensuring fiscal responsibility; demanding accountability; and enacting market-driven and incentive-based policies. The FCC will vote on a proposal for changing the USF and ICC on February 8, and hopes to enact a two-stage process for their reform. The goal is to do away with the iCC over time, and use the funds collected by the USF to more effectively deliver broadband to Americans who don't have access to it.